Grooving of index cards



J n- 1, 1952 w. SCHEMPERS saoovmc; OF INDEX CARDS 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1 Filed Feb. 26, 1949 INVENTOR.

BY @mflVW ATTORNEY 1952 w. SCHEMPERS 2,581,049

' caoovmc OF INDEX CARDS Filed Feb. 26, 1949 2 SHEETSSHEET 2 [2 wygw IN V EN TOR.

' 57 ATTORA/EV I ll l kw/ 7%;

Patented Jan. 1, 1952 GnoovmG 'OF INDEX CARDS William Schempers, Wollaston, Mass, assignor to John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance Company, Boston, Mass, a; corporation of Massachusetts Application February 26, 1949, Serial No. 78,499 f 2 Claims. (01. 1c4 -s1) 1 This invention relates to'a new machine to uniformly grooving the edges of index cards so that the cards may be used in a simple mechanical filing and culling out system. i

In enterprises such as life insurance companies, which must perforce maintain card index system containing sometimes millions of cards, it is usually necessary to cull out obsolete cards systematically so that the file will not become too unwieldy to be useful and will contain at all times only current cards. Where vast numbers of index cards are involved the burden of visually inspecting all the cards periodically and picking out the obsolete ones becomes excessive, tying up skilled manpower which could otherwise be usefully employed.

v To overcome these difficulties various expedi ents have been proposed. Perhaps the most successful and simple system is to provide grooved index cards, the grooves being spaced along the the edges of the respective cardsin accordance with the period of time they are to be left in the file. At appropriate intervals, suchas annually, all cards are removed from the files in stacks and each stack placed in a vibrating sorting box provided with a selector key or rod. The selector is adjusted to a preselected location directly beneath the grooves of all cards to be removed so that by mechanically vibrating the stack all cards to be culled will fall out on the selector rod and may thereafter be manually pulled and discarded. In the operation of such a system unskilled helpmay be used, since the selection of cards to be discarded is a purely mechanical operation and the operator needflnot be instructed or experienced as to the intelligence appearing on the cards. The saving in time and skilled personnel is enormous as compared to the old-fashioned visual method of culling- For the efficient operation of this system of mechanical culling it is important to provide a method and apparatus-for initially grooving the index cards so that later they will readily fall out selectively in the sorting machine. Here again it has heretofore been proposed to punch the cards individually depending upon the interval they are to be left in the file. Individual punching requires a skilled operator and, even so, many errors occur in the spacing of the punched grooves of the cards. It has also been proposed to groove the cards by punching the margins thereof in a largepunoh press so that large numbers may be appropriately grooved at once. 'While such punches will operate very successfully in punching holes in the centers of cards or making grooves in the edges with 1131"! rowed throats, such punches are "notconvenient for grooving the edgesof'index cards uniformly at spaced predetermined intervals with uniform grooves having parallel sides.

It is an object of my invention to provide an apparatus for-grooving index cards in which the location of the groove will be positively controlled and large quantities of index cards may be operated upon more quickly and simply than has heretofore been possible.

It is a further object of the invention to provide means by which thejindex cards to be grooved may be packed into a solid block and then grooved by abrasion rather'th an by cutting or punching.

It is still another object of the invention to provide means for grooving index cards which may be accurately and positively adjusted so as to locate the grooves uniformly at any desired location for, any given number of index cards. r V

It is yet another object of the invention to provide a new and improved machine for grooving index cards which does not require skilled labor.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which like numerals refer to like parts in the several views and in which: v

Fig. 1 is a plan showing the relation of the card holding means-to the table top of the circular saw;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged plan of the card holder;

Fig. 3 is a vertical section on line 3-3 of Fig.2; r

Fig. 4 is a vertical section on line 4-4 of Fig. 2; and j r Fig. 5' is an elevationof anindex card, grooved according "torth'e method and apparatus of the invention. i v

The machine of the invention comprises a Work table In under which is mounted a circular saw blade I2 rotating with anarbor l4 driven in the usual manner by any suitable means such as an electric motor (not shown). The table top H! has a slot .l l through-which the cutting, edge of the blade 12 protrudes. apredetermined distance. The top surface of ,the" table [0- has formed therein two longitudinally. extending straight parallel grooves fl 8 ,one ofi which is provided with. stops 18 and 20 to limit movement of the traveling work holder.

The work holder, as clearly shown in Figs. 2, 3, and 4, comprises clamping means for first accurately aligning and then tightly clamping a stack of index cards in such a way that they are compressed into. a substantiallysolid block; together with-means for feeding one surface of the block into the cutting edge of the saw i2, whereby all the cards of the stack are uniformly grooved, not only to a predetermined. depth but at a predetermined distance from the marginal edges thereof. The work holder is mounted on a.

pair of spaced parallel supporting rails 22' slidably engaging the grooves l6 so that the work holder may move in a straight line longitudinally of the table In, movement being limited by the stops l8 and 26. Aifixed to the rails 22 are a pair of transverse supporting bars 24 on. which the clamping and spacing device is mounted. The card holding receiverrli includes afixed upright side wall 2 8anda fixeduprighhend. wall 311 and is arranged to, hold index: cards of predeter mined dimensions standing up; in a stack, their bottom edges resting on. the table; to and the lane of each cardbeing transversetotheplane of the sawl2. Opposite the immovable side wall 28 is a corresponding movableside. clamping plate 32 which, may be.- shifted. by means of the adjusting screw 34 so as to. push all the index cards to be grooved: to. one side of. the work. holder 26 thus insuring that all of the same will be grooved at a proper location. Corresponding to and opposite the end. wall 30 a second movable clampin "plate 36 is provided tov compress the stack-ofi-ndex cards, which have: previously been aligned by the plate 32, into a substantial solid block,

The plate 32 is adiustably mounted on two pairs ofpins 38 and 39 which are slidably held in a vertical wall 40.0f thereceiyer 2.6.. They adjusting screw 34 is also appropriately journaled at 42 in the plate 40 being adapted to shift, the plate 32 towards the index cards; against the compression of'the-coil springs .onthe pins 38.

The plate 36 is adjustable to compress the index cards after they have been pressed into alignmentby the plate 32. Movement of theplate 36 is controlled by an adjusting screw 46 having a knob 48, the screw being threaded through a second fixedupright. plate 56 whichis firmly at.- tached to the relatively immovable. plates 28. and 40.

The, entire receiver 26, is mounted by means. of right ang e brackets52 on the cross bars 24,. The cross bars 24 are provided with a series of spaced sockets 54 adapted to receive the mounting screws 55 of the brackets 52. It will thus be seen that the receiver 26 may be spaced transversely of the table If! by removing the mounting screws 56 and sliding the work holder 26 to one side orthe other and then replacing the mounting screws 56 in, an appropriate socket 54. Byusing staggered mounting sockets 54 the apparatus, as shown, is. capable of transverse adjustment to 12 difierent stations, thus permitting the, grooving of a. stack of index cards at anyone or. more of 12 spaced positions, a groove at one such position being shown cut in a typical index card 5901 Fig. 5.

The movable card clamping plate 36 is pro.- vided with one or more slots 58, to. accommodate he protruding. edge. of thev cutting saw l2. when thecard holder is. shifted, to its extreme position. Ifhave, foundit desirable. to provide. a series. f interchangeableplates 36, having only one or two slots 58 so that cards will be clamped firmly adjacent the cut when fed into the saw. Thus, readily interchangeable substitute plates 36, each provided with a slot 58 at a different position may be used to groove the cards at any one of 12 locations. On the other hand, since the saw l2 rotates in a counterclockwise direction, as shown in Fig. 3', when it"is. operating on, such. of; the cards as are close-to the plate 30 the action of the saw tends more closely to pack the cards rather than to spread them. Therefore, a single stationary end plate 30 may be used having a wide slot 66 at its base so that no matter which of the twelve lateralstations; the card holder occupies, the bottom edge of the plate 30 will not come in contact with the blade. In a similar manner the backing plate 6'! which supports the plate 36 may carry asingle wide slot 68, similar to the slot 66 to prevent interference with the saw. A wide slot 10 is also provided in the base of the plate 50 to allow appropriate clearance from the saw blade as the. holder is moved.

The. rk. holder.- carries; screwed down. to. the cross-bars. 2.4: forwar ly and rearwardly extend: ing protective aprons 62 and 64' respectively; whereby thewhirling saw blade isalways shielded from the operatorshand when the: device. is shifted between the stops I8v and 20'.

The operation of the apparatus of. the invention may be described as follows: The work holder is initially shifted tothe extreme left position. of Fig. 1- against the stop 48- so that the saw blade I2 is received in the-.slot.66, outof engagement, with any index cards which may be placed in the receiver 26. The adjusting screws 34 and 46 are thereupon loosened: and a staekof upright index cards is inserted'in the-receiver-ZB with theirbottom edges resting on, theupper surface of the table 10; on either side of the slot, H. As already described, the receiver 26. has previously been shifted laterally by means of the mountings 52, mounting screws 5.6, and sockets. to a predetermined station so that the cardswill be grooved at a desiredlocation. The adjusting screw 34: is next tightened; to press the cards against the plate 28, aligning them uniformly so that all will be groovedat the same place. Thereupon, the knob. 48 is operated toshift the clamp.- in plate 36; thereby compressing; thecards tightly into a substantially solid block to. secure a. clean out. The block of index cards is now ready to be fed into the cutting blade of the saw I 2 and, accordingly, the work holder 26 ismanus ally shifted in the direction of the arrow of Fig. l and; one face of the entire stack of; cards. is quickly and. uniformly roovedby the protruding cutting edge of the saw: [-2.

It will, of course; beunderstood that mechanie ca-lfeed may optionally beprovided to force the block'qf cards, into the saw. bladeand further that I may optionally feed the revolving saw blade into the face of a stationary block of index cards rather than; moving the cards, the; only require: men-t being hat; there be: appropriate relative stra ghtline mctionbetween the two. I may-like wise-optionally ch ngethe location of. the grooves. by laterally shifting the-saw rather than the-card holder.

I have found. that tightly packed, index cards are so tough to abrade by a circular saw that for best results a tungsten carbide tipped blade should be used. Likewise, the sideand end plates should be sufli'ciently rugged, for example of five-sixteenth. inch tool steel, to give proper support to theindexcards to assure a cleanout.

While I have described a'preferred embodiment ofthe invention 1- wish to mak'eit clear that the same is susceptible of modifications and changes within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

l. A machine for grooving index cards comprising, in combination, a supporting frame, a circular saw supported in said frame, a table presenting a smooth upper surface mounted on said frame above said saw and having a slot extending in a direction from front to rear of said frame and in the plane of said saw to accommodate the cutting edge of said saw to a predetermined distance above said surface, said surface having formed therein a pair of spaced rectilinear grooves on either side of and parallel to said slot and an index card holder assembly slidably supported on said surface, said assembly comprising a pair of longitudinally extending rails arranged to slide in said grooves, transverse supports held on said rails, and an index card holder mounted on said supports, said holder comprising two pairs of opposed vertical clamping plates operative in a horizontal plane at right angles to each other, one pair in a forwardly and rearwardly direction and the other pair in a transverse direction, one plate of each of said pairs being fixedly attached to said supports and the other plate of each of said pairs being adjustable toward and away from its opposing fixed plate, a clamping device held by said supports for moving each of said adjustable plates toward and away from its opposing plate for aligning and compressing into a solid block a pack of index cards arranged vertically therebetween with their bottom edges engaging said surface whereby said block of cards may be fed in a rectilinear path into the cutting edge of said saw by movement of said assembly guided by said rails to abrade a groove uniformly in the bottom edge of each card in said pack at a predetermined distance from its end, and positive locking means mounting said holder on said tranverse supports, said locking means permitting releasing and shifting of said holder transversely and relocking thereof at preselected uniformly spaced stations so that said cards may be grooved with accuracy at any desired location along their bottom edges, said forward and rearward clamping plates being slotted at their lower edges to clear said cutting edge during said abrading operation.

2. A machine in accordance with claim 1 in which said locking means comprises a transverse series of spaced threaded sockets formed in said supports permitting said holder to be held thereto at any selected station by mean of locking screws.

WILLIAM SCHEMPERS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

